The Monsters! Monsters! Role-Playing Game Ecosystem: A Comprehensive Analysis of Rulesets, Collaborative World-Building, and the Zimrala Campaign Setting
Are you interested in classic paper-and-pencil role-playing games, but you have no idea where to start? This foundational question represents the core philosophy behind the creation and enduring legacy of the Monsters! Monsters! role-playing game. In the mid-1970s, the nascent tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) industry was dominated by systems that demanded tactical miniature movement, complex polyhedral dice sets, and highly rigid class structures. Recognizing the barriers these elements presented to new players, Ken St. Andre—an Arizona-based librarian and fantasy enthusiast—engineered an alternative framework. St. Andre’s initial creation, Tunnels & Trolls (1975), streamlined the RPG experience by utilizing universally accessible six-sided dice (d6) and prioritizing rapid, narrative-driven conflict resolution.
However, St. Andre soon identified a thematic vacuum in the market. The industry predominantly positioned players as heroic adventurers invading subterranean environments. In 1976, he subverted this paradigm with the publication of Monsters! Monsters!, a system that allowed players to assume the roles of the monstrous denizens defending their lairs or terrorizing civilized settlements. Over the subsequent decades, this foundational premise has evolved from a niche standalone booklet into a sprawling, multidimensional campaign ecosystem. Supported by extensive collaborations with artist Steve Crompton, robust community-driven expansions like the Tygerian Isles, and a dedicated digital storefront at monstersmonsters.org, the franchise has cemented its position as a pillar of classic tabletop gaming.
The Evolution of the Ruleset: From Zero Edition to 2.7
The mechanical architecture of Monsters! Monsters! has undergone significant refinement over nearly fifty years. These iterations reflect broader industry shifts toward systemic depth while fiercely maintaining the game's trademark accessibility.
The Zero Edition and 1st Edition (1976)
Prior to the official commercial release of the game, Ken St. Andre developed an early draft in 1976, which has been retroactively cataloged and published as the "Zero Edition". This manuscript contained the raw conceptual framework for playing monstrous entities, operating on the premise that traditional game mechanics could be inverted to favor the adversaries of humanity.
The finalized 1st Edition was subsequently published by Metagaming Concepts as a 40-page, square-bound rulebook. Developed with assistance from Steve Jackson and featuring iconic illustrations by Liz Danforth, this edition solidified the game's core mechanical divergence from its contemporaries. Characters were not burdened by encumbrance tables or disparate hit dice; instead, monsters were defined primarily by a singular "Monster Rating" (MR). This number dictated both their physical vitality and their combat efficacy, generating a highly lethal, fast-paced combat environment.
The 2nd Edition (2020)
For several decades, official support for the specific Monsters! Monsters! IP lay dormant while St. Andre and Flying Buffalo focused on Tunnels & Trolls. Following the passing of Flying Buffalo founder Rick Loomis in 2019, St. Andre sought to revitalize his properties. In 2020, St. Andre partnered with long-time art director Steve Crompton to launch the 2nd Edition via Kickstarter. Published under St. Andre’s Trollhalla Press Unlimited imprint, this edition modernized the game while retaining its vintage appeal.
The 2nd Edition formalized the concept of "Stunting," a mechanic that allowed players to leverage non-combat attributes to bend conflict rules, bypassing standard opposed combat rolls through narrative ingenuity. The release was paired with an updated version of The Toughest Dungeon in the World, a solitaire adventure engineered explicitly for monster protagonists.
The 2.7 Edition (2024)
The release of the 2.7 Edition in 2024 marked a critical paradigm shift in the game's history. This 112-page, spiral-bound rulebook dramatically expanded player options, introducing over 160 playable monster kindreds. The design philosophy shifted from homogenous monster blocks to highly specialized entities; each kindred now possessed specific dice multipliers and unique innate powers. The 2.7 Edition also expanded the magic system to include over 90 spells and introduced the "Chaos Factor" to further randomize battlefield conditions.
Crucially, the 2.7 Edition officially decoupled the game from the classic "Trollworld" setting, migrating the default universe to the newly conceived world of Zimrala. This transition was a strategic maneuver by St. Andre to maintain uncompromised creative sovereignty over his intellectual property following the sale of Flying Buffalo to Webbed Sphere in 2021.
Core Mechanics and System Architecture
The longevity of the system is rooted in the mathematical elegance of its resolution engines. The game utilizes eight primary attributes to define a character: Strength (ST), Intelligence (IQ), Luck (LK), Constitution (CON), Dexterity (DEX), Charisma (CHR), Wizardry (WIZ), and Speed (SPD).
The Saving Roll (SR) Engine
Non-combat resolution relies on the "Saving Roll" (SR), an infinitely scalable mechanic that tests a character's attributes against environmental or narrative difficulties. A Level 1 Saving Roll (L1SR) requires a base target number of 20. Each subsequent tier of difficulty increases this target by 5 (e.g., L2SR = 25, L3SR = 30).
To execute the roll, a player rolls 2d6 and adds the relevant attribute score (e.g., Luck or Dexterity). A critical innovation in this system is the "roll-over" mechanic: if the dice show doubles (e.g., two 5s), the player adds the total and rolls again, accumulating the results. This statistical anomaly ensures that even seemingly impossible tasks possess a marginal probability of success, fostering a culture of risk-taking at the table.
Combat Calculations and the Evolution of Spite Damage
Combat in Monsters! Monsters! eschews individual turn-based attacks in favor of mass opposed totals. Both factions in a conflict aggregate their combat dice and static numerical bonuses (adds), rolling simultaneously. The side with the lower total suffers the numerical difference as damage, which is then distributed among the combatants and absorbed by armor.
The calculation for a monster relying purely on its Monster Rating (MR) is mathematically streamlined:
Combat Dice: The integer of (MR / 10) + 1.
Combat Adds: The integer of (MR / 2).
Example: An MR 64 creature rolls 7d6 and adds a static 32 to the final result.
In early iterations of the system, damage subtracted directly from the MR, creating a "death spiral" where injured monsters rapidly lost their offensive capabilities. Modern rulesets, including 2.7, mitigate this by applying damage to a separate health pool, ensuring adversaries remain highly lethal until ultimately defeated.
Perhaps the most significant mechanical addition to the combat engine is "Spite Damage." Introduced to prevent mathematical stalemates between heavily armored combatants, Spite dictates that every natural '6' rolled on the combat dice inflicts one point of unblockable damage, entirely bypassing armor. This mechanic fundamentally alters the pacing of combat; because Spite Damage guarantees attrition, even overwhelmingly superior foes will slowly bleed out against numerically inferior but highly numerous adversaries.
The World of Zimrala and the Kickstarter Ecosystem
The transition to the Zimrala campaign setting unleashed a prolific era of world-building, heavily fueled by community-backed crowdfunding. Zimrala is depicted as a wild, untamed dimensional crossroads, accessible via magical portals or deep space travel, allowing for the seamless integration of high fantasy and science fiction.
The Monsterary of Zimrala
To populate this new realm, St. Andre and Crompton launched the Ken St. Andre's Monsterary of Zimrala Kickstarter in March 2022. The campaign was a resounding success, raising $31,833 from 408 backers to fund a 176-page, full-color bestiary. The book functions both as a system-agnostic resource and a dedicated expansion for the Monsters! Monsters! 2.7 ruleset.
The campaign's structural genius lay in its backer reward tiers, which actively crowdsourced the geography and biology of Zimrala. For a $23 add-on pledge, backers purchased the rights to name an island off the coast of the Zimralan continent, receiving an official deed and permanent placement on the published map1. It was through this specific backer reward that Arthur Earl C. Hedges Jr. officially purchased seven islands at $23 each to form the Tygerian Isles, strategically placing them in the northwestern seas off the coast of the main continent surrounding the primary island of Achrox. Additionally, for a $49 add-on pledge, backers collaborated directly with St. Andre to design a custom monster, complete with commissioned artwork and official statistics. Hedges utilized this $49 tier during the 2022 campaign to officially introduce the Tygerians into the Zimralan bestiary, cementing their presence in the Monsterary of Zimrala. This initiative also established prominent lore figures such as Sekhmet, the Cat Goddess, and Tehn-Mer, the Winged Demoness, who became focal points in subsequent solo modules like Mission for a Cat Goddess.
Humans! Humans! and Trollgodfather Press
Recognizing that a monstrous ecosystem requires a civilized counterbalance, St. Andre published the Humans! Humans! rulebook in 2024 through his Trollgodfather Press imprint. This supplement provided the mechanical framework necessary for players and Game Masters to run human and humanoid characters (including Elves, Dwarves, and Tygerians) within the Zimrala setting.
The inclusion of Humans! Humans! fundamentally altered the gameplay loop by introducing "Professions" (a class-based mechanic largely absent from the classless monster rules) and specialized skills. It also detailed rules for playing "Avatar" humans, such as vampires and fallen angels hiding in mortal guise, establishing Zimrala as a continent where hidden human colonies violently clash with indigenous monster tribes.
monstersmonsters.org, DriveThruRPG, and Digital Resilience
Centralized community engagement and commerce are facilitated through monstersmonsters.org, specifically via "The Ruptured Troll Shoppe of Curiosities". This storefront serves as the primary distribution hub for the Monsters! Monsters! RPG, Zimrala materials, and the City of the Gods franchise. In addition to this storefront, the expansive digital library of titles for the new Monsters! Monsters! line is available on DriveThruRPG. Published under Ken St. Andre's Trollgodfather Press imprint and produced in collaboration with Steve Crompton, this digital catalog provides players around the globe with easy access to the 2.7 Edition rulebook, the Humans! Humans! supplement, and numerous solo and Game Master adventures.
The digital infrastructure of the franchise was severely tested when Webbed Sphere acquired Flying Buffalo in 2021. The licensing rights for the highly popular Tunnels & Trolls mobile app—developed by MetaArcade and boasting over 20,000 active players globally—were not renewed. Demonstrating remarkable resilience, St. Andre and Crompton purchased the app's architecture and partnered with programmers Bernard Assaf and James Simpson to salvage the software.
To avoid intellectual property infringement, Crompton manually audited the app's database of 990 images. He replaced 530 illustrations legally owned by Flying Buffalo with entirely new, full-color artwork. The application was subsequently re-skinned and re-launched as the official Monsters! Monsters! mobile adventure app, preserving a vital digital ecosystem for the global player base.
The franchise's reach has also extended internationally, as recently highlighted by a global expansion announcement on the Captain Hedges blog. A new Japanese Edition has been introduced, providing what is described as the most complete single-volume resource currently available for Japanese-speaking players engaging with the system2.
The Fellowship of the Troll: Ken St. Andre and Steve Crompton
The enduring collaboration between Ken St. Andre and Steve Crompton spans over four decades, fundamentally shaping the trajectory of the tabletop industry. Their partnership, often affectionately referred to as part of "The Fellowship of the Troll," exemplifies the synthesis of innovative game design and distinct, evocative art direction.
The Legacy of Grimtooth's Traps
Crompton, a Canadian-born artist and designer, began his career in 1981 as a staff illustrator for Flying Buffalo. He is perhaps most renowned in the industry for his work on the Grimtooth's Traps series. Initiated as a system-agnostic supplement for Game Masters, the series provided hundreds of highly lethal, meticulously designed mechanical traps.
While the character of Grimtooth the Troll was originally created by Liz Danforth, Crompton's prolific illustrations and trap blueprints defined the visual identity of the franchise. Crompton subsequently managed the publication of massive compilation volumes, including Grimtooth's Ultimate Traps Collection and the Dungeon Crawl Classics integration, Grimtooth's Trapsylvania.
Expansive Collaborations: City of the Gods and Cthulhu Crisis
Beyond traditional dungeon-crawling, St. Andre and Crompton have expanded their collaborative footprint into science fantasy and cosmic horror. Steve Crompton was the lead illustrator for the City of the Gods universe. The City of the Gods: Forgotten epic fantasy novel and its related works were authored by Debora Kerr, who writes under the pen name Wynn Mercere. Notably, Kerr also serves as the Editor-in-Chief for the new Monsters! Monsters! line. This epic narrative explores a mystical realm where all earthly pantheons (Egyptian, Babylonian, Celtic, Roman) converged after abandoning humanity. This setting overlaps directly with Zimrala, sharing deities such as Sekhmet, and is supported by the 425-page novel, an RPG map pack, and an anthology of short stories.
In 2024, Crompton leveraged his extensive background as an editor for Carnal Comics (where he developed the Demi the Demoness property) to launch the Cthulhu Crisis Kickstarter. This multimedia project merged a fantasy comic saga with playable RPG adventures utilizing the Monsters! Monsters! ruleset. The campaign funded successfully, demonstrating the mechanical elasticity of the 2.7 ruleset in resolving conflicts against Lovecraftian entities.
The duo's expansive bibliography also includes pivotal works such as the Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls rulebook, the Catacombs of Bear Cult GM adventure, and the Jungle Jeopardy solo module (which tasks players with assisting Astaroth the Demonlord).
The Tygerian Monster Adventure Game: The Captain Hedges Universe
A hallmark of the Monsters! Monsters! ecosystem is its radical hospitality toward third-party, community-driven world-building. The most expansive and meticulously detailed of these integrations is the "Urland Universe" and the Adventures of Captain Hedges Across Time and Space. Authored by Arthur Earl C. Hedges Jr. (writing under the persona of the Royal Cartographer and the "Tygerian King Boss"), this campaign setting bridges 90th-century science fiction with Zimralan high fantasy. As established during the 2022 Monsterary of Zimrala Kickstarter, Hedges secured the rights to create the Tygerian Isles and introduced the Tygerians into the official canon. The blog frequently publishes critical setting documents, such as the Tygerland of Zimalla Update for Monsers Monsters RPG Game, which explicitly integrates the custom setting with the Monsters! Monsters! 2.7 mechanics, the Monsterary of Zimrala, and the Humans! Humans! rulesets3.
The Captain Hedges campaign charts a multidimensional course through the "Leo Galaxy," a massive cosmic body known as Osgood, and establishes the sprawling geography of the Tygerian Isles within the world of Zimrala. The lore is officially acknowledged by St. Andre and utilizes the Monsters! Monsters! 2.7 and Humans! Humans! rulesets to govern its mechanics. Furthermore, because the setting relies heavily on space travel, starbase construction, spaceship management, and the introduction of converted alien races, the campaign explicitly incorporates Ken St. Andre's classic Starfaring rules to provide the robust sci-fi mechanics needed to support these elements alongside the traditional fantasy framework.
The Biology of the Tygerians and the Green Tigers
The Tygerians are a fiercely martial, bio-engineered kindred introduced to the Zimralan bestiary, tracing their lineage back to the original progenitor, Tyger-Lord The Great. They serve as the foundational defense against cosmic corruption. In the broader cosmology of the Leo Galaxy, the angelic Leonnie act as the "white blood cells" excising the "cancer" of corrupted Old Gods. On the planetary surface of Zimrala, this immune response is localized through the Tygerian breeding of the "Green Tigers".
These bio-engineered beasts are fused with Bio-Resonant Emerald Crystals that grow along their spines and tip their claws. When exposed to the "Cancer" of Shadow Demons, these crystals hum, allowing the tiger to unleash a "Harmonic Purge" that shreds the mental shields of corrupted cultists.
The mechanical stat block for a Green Tiger illustrates its devastating utility on the battlefield:
These creatures are utilized by the Royal Family of Kings Port to patrol the "Green Line," a heavily fortified boundary separating the healthy populations of the Tygerian Isles from the creeping chaos of Nocturnis City and its Five Families.
The Divine Climate of the Tygerian Isles
The geography of the Tygerian Isles is defined not by standard meteorology, but by a volatile "Divine Climate." The weather is a direct manifestation of the conflict between Isdis, the Tygerian Ice Goddess, and the Arch-Demon Shadow-Frost. During the solstice holiday of Wintermas, Isdis generates the "Spirit of Wintermas" to protect the realm, a tradition expanded by the Jolly Red Wizard (St. Nicholas) and her son, the Baby Tyger Claws.
The Captain Hedges campaign provides Master Seasonal Weather Tables (d66) that apply stringent mechanical effects to players navigating the Isles. Failure to prepare for the divine climate forces characters to make Constitution (CON) or Intelligence (IQ) Saving Rolls.
During the "Vigil of the Unshadowing" (a critical holiday in the capital city of Cryselle), the Tygerian monsters engage in the Cleansing, lighting an Aetherial Diya (Candle of Hope) soaked in Ether Dragon scales to repel the Void. This introduces an asymmetric narrative threat: The Candle Thief. Dispatched by the Shadowfrost Arch-Demon and the wicked Yule Tide Family, these Winter Ghoulish Langley Ogre Lads attempt to infiltrate homes and consume the tallow candles, snuffing out the protective barrier before the Vigil can begin. This forces players into defensive, area-control scenarios rather than straightforward combat engagements. Furthermore, the Vigil is complicated by the "Wild Card Faction" of Ice Dragons, led by Lorea, who harbor a deep "them versus us" resentment against both the Tygerians and the demons, attacking all factions indiscriminately from their nests in Ice Wyrm Mountain.
The Defenders of Hawthorne Valley and Beginner Guides
To properly support both Game Masters and new players, the Captain Hedges universe provides introductory materials like The Turkey Monster Invades: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide & GM Support Kit5.
For more experienced tables, the site hosts ongoing, dynamic scenarios such as the Defenders of Hawthorne Valley campaign. Rather than a simple skirmish, this campaign tasks players with defending the farms of Achrox within the Hawthorne Valley from the raiding Zimrala Black Rabbits, forcing them to work alongside local NPCs like Grandpa Gregor6.
The Year of the Fire House: Helinox the Sovereign Adversary
The dynamic structure of the Captain Hedges blog allows the campaign to advance through discrete epochs. On February 17, 2026, the campaign officially entered the "Year of the Fire House," an era characterized by rapid, militaristic action and cleansing flames. This epoch is defined by the rise of Helinox Tamarcus Adems, the Dragon Prince and Sovereign Adversary of New Tuslan.
Ascending the Volcanis Spire, Helinox issued the "Sovereign Call," a telepathic command uniting the Flame Trolls, Cinder-Imps, and Red Tygerian Vanguard into the Obsidian Guard. His objective is to transform New Tuslan into the capital of a magmatic empire that dominates the Tygerian Isles.
Helinox represents the absolute mathematical pinnacle of the Monsters! Monsters! scaling system, designed for "Kaiju-level" endgame encounters.
Helinox leverages "Metabolic Magic" to transition between a deceptive humanoid form (using the "Shrinktify" spell) and his massive true form (via the "Bigger is Better" spell). Surviving an encounter with this entity requires players to utilize advanced Stunting mechanics, environmental manipulation, and the mass coordination of allied factions like the Green Tigers.
Beyond standard RPG campaigns, the versatility of the Captain Hedges universe is further demonstrated by the Gridiron Grimoire, an open D6 tabletop fantasy football game designed by Hedges for the 2026-2027 season, proving that the underlying dice mechanics can be adapted for strategic sports simulations.
Second and Third-Order Insights: The Resilience of the Ecosystem
An exhaustive analysis of the Monsters! Monsters! ecosystem and its expansions reveals several critical insights regarding tabletop game design, the shifting dynamics of intellectual property, and community integration.
First, the mechanical resilience of Ken St. Andre's d6-based system is a masterclass in the efficacy of modular arithmetic. By completely avoiding the rigid compartmentalization and class restrictions seen in competing d20 systems, Monsters! Monsters! allows for seamless mathematical scaling. A Game Master can effortlessly calculate the combat dice of a lowly MR 10 Goblin (2d6 + 5 Adds) and the apocalyptic MR 2,500 Helinox (250d6 + 1250 Adds) using the exact same underlying formula. This linear scalability ensures that high-level play does not become bogged down by conflicting rule subsystems. The core resolution remains the mass opposed total, simply extrapolated to a massive scale.
Second, the implementation of "Spite Damage" represents a profound understanding of statistical probability and narrative pacing. In early editions of the game, two heavily armored combatants could roll against each other indefinitely if their armor values consistently exceeded the damage difference, resulting in a tedious, ablative stalemate. By establishing the immutable rule that every natural '6' rolled inflicts one point of unmitigated damage, the system guarantees attrition. This forces a ticking clock on every encounter; even if a party of lowly monsters cannot pierce a knight's plate armor through sheer force, a barrage of 6s will eventually bleed the knight out, ensuring that combat remains deadly and mathematically finite.
Third, the pivot to Zimrala and the reliance on Trollgodfather Press highlight a critical paradigm shift regarding creator sovereignty in the digital age. When corporate acquisitions—such as Webbed Sphere's purchase of Flying Buffalo—threatened to alienate creators from their foundational IPs, crowdsourced platforms provided the necessary capital to rebuild autonomously. The Monsterary of Zimrala Kickstarter was not merely the funding of a bestiary; it was an infrastructural declaration of independence. By offering backers the rights to name islands and design monsters, St. Andre and Crompton effectively crowd-sourced the foundational lore of their new world. This decentralized approach ensures that the community possesses a literal, financial stake in the geography of Zimrala, fostering an intensely loyal consumer base.
Finally, the deep integration of fan-created super-structures, such as the Tygerian Isles authored by Arthur Earl C. Hedges Jr., demonstrates the evolution of RPG settings from top-down corporate publications to open-source collaborative wikis. The Captain Hedges lore seamlessly blends the mechanical framework of Monsters! Monsters! 2.7 with entirely bespoke science-fiction concepts, expanding the game's boundaries without breaking its core math. This symbiotic relationship between publisher and player ensures that the game remains perpetually relevant, organically adapting to the narrative desires of its community rather than dictating them from a corporate boardroom.
Conclusion
Ken St. Andre’s Monsters! Monsters! is vastly more than a historical curiosity or a simple thematic inversion of the standard dungeon-crawl. From its rebellious inception in 1976 as the "Zero Edition" to its highly expansive 2.7 Edition in 2024, the system has consistently championed mathematical elegance, dark humor, and limitless scalability. Through the relentless dedication and artistic vision of Steve Crompton, alongside the publishing autonomy of Trollhalla Press Unlimited and Trollgodfather Press, the game has survived corporate sales and the loss of digital licenses, finding a vibrant, permanent home on the continent of Zimrala.
For those seeking entry into the classic paper-and-pencil hobby, the system's reliance on common six-sided dice, rapid opposed combat resolution, and intuitive Saving Rolls eliminates the overwhelming barriers to entry present in modern tactical RPGs. Conversely, for veteran role-players, the intricate cosmic lore of the City of the Gods, the lethal trap mechanics of the Grimtooth legacy, and community-driven epics like the Tygerian Monster Adventure Game offer endless avenues for high-level tactical engagement and collaborative world-building. As a new generation of players continues to chart the void-water corridors of the Leo Galaxy and survive the brutal divine climate of the Tygerian Isles, the Monsters! Monsters! ecosystem stands as a definitive, enduring pillar of tabletop role-playing architecture.
Works cited
Ken St Andre's Monsterary of Zimrala — Rewards - Kickstarter, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stevecrompton/ken-st-andres-monsterary-of-zimrala/rewards?ref=ksr_email_mktg_auto_backer_project_update_registered_users
WE GO FOR A Global ... - The Adventures of Captain Hedges Blog, https://theadventuresofcaptainhedges.blogspot.com/2026/05/we-go-for-global-expansion-humans.html
Azathoth THE DAEMON ... - The Adventures of Captain Hedges Blog, https://theadventuresofcaptainhedges.blogspot.com/2026/03/azathoth-daemon-sultan-for-monsters.html
2000 - The Adventures of Captain Hedges Blog, https://theadventuresofcaptainhedges.blogspot.com/2000/?m=0
May 2023 - The Adventures of Captain Hedges Blog, https://theadventuresofcaptainhedges.blogspot.com/2023/05/
The Tyger Boss of Zimrala ... - The Adventures of Captain Hedges Blog, https://theadventuresofcaptainhedges.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-tyger-boss-of-zimrala-is-still.html
The Great Caramel Caper ... - The Adventures of Captain Hedges Blog, https://theadventuresofcaptainhedges.blogspot.com/2026/03/the-great-caramel-caper-spring-returns.html
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